First up, hello all. I've just moved over from the UK for 18 months and one of my first stops was the local Honda dealer for an Element!

I got a 2005 EX in the darker grey, 58k and in very good condition throughout.

Now I'm just deciding what to do with the stereo. In the UK I had an Alpine iPod ready HU directly powering Infinity speakers all round and the improvement over OEM was incredible.

I could go for new speakers all round and see how the OEM HU sounds as this will be quite a simple upgrade.

The other options would be keep the OEM speakers and change the head unit or switch out the whole lot and drive the new speakers from the HU and just route the sub through the OEM amp/sub.

I'm inclined to do the latter especially as I can add the KTP-445 (http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product_acc.php?model=KTP-445) if I think I need more power.

If I opted for the latter how easy is it to run new wiring or is it easier to tap into the existing loom?

I guess the real annoyance of a full system upgrade is the loss of XM. Is it possible to use any of the OEM kit in conjunction with the relevant Alpine bits or would I need a new antenna/tuner etc...?

Finally, and on a slightly different topic, what are people's experiences with HD Radio?

Thanks in advance.

It sounds like you already have your mind made up. The stock headunit is made by Alpine but it ok. I would upgrade the speakers first as they are the easiest to upgrade then you can go upgrade the headunit if you feel like. You should be able to find a lot of useful info here. Oh and welcome!